PITTSBURG, Kan. — Connie Pesavento-Potusek, of Pittsburg, drove home in a 2026 Jeep Gladiator after the big giveaway event at Ron’s Supermarket.
At 11 a.m. Saturday morning, four finalists each chose a random key fob from a bowl, and one by one climbed in the Jeep and attempted to start it. Pesavento-Potusek was the last of the four.
“Even as I was walking up to it, I thought ‘well it still has to start,’” Pesavento-Potusek said with a laugh.
As a big supporter of shopping at locally-owned grocery stores, Pesavento-Potusek has been a dedicated Ron’s customer since the mid-1980s. Her grandparents owned Pesavento Grocery in Chicopee for many years, but the store closed in 1986.
Pesavento-Potusek said she remembers patronizing Ron’s when it was housed in the Meadowbrook Mall.
June is Pesavento-Potusek's birthday month, so, she said, she counts this as a gift.
“I think it makes pretty good birthday present,” she said. “Probably the most, the biggest birthday present I'm ever gonna receive.”
Ron’s Supermarket, a locally owned and operated grocery store located at 310 E. Centennial Drive, celebrated its 50th anniversary by having weekly giveaways and deep discounts for the first six months of the year.
“We kicked this off six months ago, and we kind of changed a lot of things throughout the store,” Tim Rhodes, co-owner of Ron’s said. “We lowered prices, we changed a lot of signage, but the big thing was we wanted to give back to our community, because we know we have a great community, and so we felt like they deserve a good place to shop, and that's what we wanted to give them.”
When customers used their Ron’s Rewards Card at the checkout, they were automatically entered for a chance to win the green 2026 Jeep Gladiator. The finalists for the giveaway were randomly selected.
“I’m very thankful for them to do this for our community,” Pesavento-Potusek told the Morning Sun. “And of course, thankful they have 50 years in our community.”
“We were very excited to see the final contestants, as well as her win,” Rhodes said. “Because we do know our customers, and we know that they support us and have been with us for years and years, and it's great that one of our best customers got this.”
The finalists present for the event were Janet Maceli, Jim Jordan, Connie Pesavento-Potusek and Marilyn Bishop. The three runners-up received a meat bundle. Angelique Durden was also a finalist for the Jeep, but she was not in attendance.
During the celebration event Saturday, Pittsburg High School cheerleaders sold hotdogs as a fundraiser, and bounce houses were set up for the children. Ron and Barbara Rhodes, the couple who started the business, were present, along with Senator Roger Marshall and Gus the Gorilla.
When Ron’s Supermarket hit the 25-year mark, the family gave away a truck, so for their 50-year anniversary, they wanted to continue to give back, Tim Rhodes said.
“Not a lot of businesses stay in business for 50 years,” he said. “And we really realized that it’s the community support that's kept us here for these 50 years.”
This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.
